Wire Flooring and other cage questions

[chelshorsegirl]

So, by watching my local craigs list like a hawk, I was able to find a cage big enough to house two rats for $10 (I used the rat cage calcs... super handy) that someone really wanted to get rid of. Its a bird cage turned rat cage,so its nothing fancy, but for a college student with too much time on her hands, I'm thinking I can set it up pretty nice (and yes, its powder coated)...

I've been going through pages and pages of old posts, taking notes on ideas, and what not, and I have a couple of questions...

First, because its a bird cage the floor is wire. I noticed a variety of ideas on how to cover it, so that it won't cause med issues with the feet. I've been looking through some of my stuff and noticed that I have an extreme abundance of no slip drawer liners... I was wondering if anyone had ever used these and if so... do they work. I was just thinking of possibly putting one down and then covering it with fleece/other bedding.

Second question- Is there any type of material that is particularly harmful to rats. I'm going to go shopping soon to try to find things to use to create hidy-holes and toys, and wanted to know if there was anything in particular to watch out for?

Thanks.

 

[SD_RatFanatic]

To answer your first question, I would say that the drawer liners might be hard to clean because they are kinda sticky. I think it might be easier if you could go to a real estate agency and ask if they have any old/about-to-be-thrown-out for-sale signs. You can cut the signs to the size of your cage...the coroplast (what the sign is made of, usually) is super durable and stain resistant. Super easy to clean, too! If you are using cage liners, that would be fantastic.

I don't think there are any materials that are particularly harmful to rats. In all things, consider whether it can be chewed or destroyed (at least how long it would take for them to do so), and whether if injested it could be harmful.

Good luck!

 

[Kayla2]

I had a bird cage that I converted and I used plastic 'craft mats' from the local dollar store. They were easy to cut to size and very easy to clean.

 

[Joanne]

New flooring vinyl is great too; flexible, durable, and easy to clean

 

[jorats]

I always just used fleece on any wire floors and held them down with binder clips.